January 3, 2011 -
SKMATCH, Inc., the operator of a Subway restaurant in
Wilmington, N.C., will pay $55,000 and furnish other
relief to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced. The EEOC
had charged that two female employees were subjected to a sexually
hostile work environment at one of SKMATCH’s Subway restaurants in
Wilmington.

According to the
EEOC’s complaint, from around December 2008 through May 7, 2009, the
male assistant manager at the Subway store where Helena Miller worked,
subjected her to repeated sexual comments, sexual propositions and name
calling and sexual touching. At the time of the sexual harassment,
Miller was only 18 years old, and the assistant manager who harassed her
was ten years older than her.

Miller
complained to other managers about the sexual harassment, the EEOC
said, but no action was taken in response to her complaints. The
harassment was so intolerable that Miller was forced to quit her job
in order to avoid being harassed.Such alleged
conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC
filed suit case (EEOC v. SKMATCH, Inc. d/b/a Subway, Case No.
7:10CV00187) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of
North Carolina after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation
settlement through its conciliation process.

In addition to the
$55,000 in compensatory damages to be divided between Miller and a
second victim, the five-year consent decree resolving the lawsuit
includes injunctive relief that requires SKMATCH to (1) refrain from
engaging in sexual harassment or retaliation; (2) revise its sexual
harassment policy to include procedures for reporting and resolving
sexual harassment complaints; (3) conduct anti-discrimination training;
(4) post a notice about the settlement; (5) distribute its revised
policies prohibiting sexual harassment; and (6) report certain
complaints of harassment to the EEOC for monitoring.

“All workers have
the right to work in an environment free from sexual harassment,” says
Lynette Barnes, regional attorney for the EEOC’s CharlotteDistrict, which includes the agency’s
Raleigh Area Office, where the underlying charge of discrimination was
filed.

“No
one should have to put up with sexual comments or touching in
their place of work. Smart employers can prevent sexual
harassment by training their employees on workplace harassment
and how to report it, and training their managers on how to
respond effectively to a sexual harassment complaint with a
prompt investigation and effective corrective measures.”Other News Stories